Wednesday (Nov 6) was cloudy, quite mild. Judy came round to see The Chosen (4:4) as usual, then equally as usual I drove to church and they followed. Bible study reached Acts 9: Dot and Judy, Debbie, Steven, Phoebe. Went quite well. Drove home while Dot stayed for Taizé. I watched FA Cup football, then walked up to meet her in the Close. At Bread Source van, while Dot bought a pain au chocolat, we met a man who pointed out a peregrine falcon on the Cathedral spire.
Later drove Dot to podiatrist, where she was told her feet were good. Booked me in for a check-up later in the month, after I had taken a short walk round the block and bought some milk from the Co-op. Heavy traffic on way home. Cooked braised beef for supper, which was lunexpectedly good. Dot got lift with Janet to orchestra. I lay down for a bit, and then David Facetimed and we discussed his forthcoming visit. Also a bit about politics and how we felt about life at different ages. (Trump won US election today.) He sent me one of his Diderot entries – his first bike and learning to ride. I have been putting. a lot more slides on the computer. When Dot got home we watched a new series of Shetland. Very well done.
Thursday was very grey but not too cold. Got up very late after writing a couple of poems and reading a lot of newspaper articles. Dot baked a couple of cakes. Bridget cancelled because she had a headache. Kim’s birthday; so we took bus up to Castle Meadow and walked down to Jarrolds. Got a table in wine bar with Kim, Kavana and their friends Dick and Jenny. Dot and I shared a cheese and charcuterie board and we also had wine – two large glasses for me. Walked round store afterwards – Dot and I bought cheese and some earrings, plus Milton and Brown shower gel. Met up again with K and K and walked to Dyers Yard – Dick and Jenny’s house – for a delicious cherry cake and drink. Walked home and watched a programme on Snowdonia, during which we went to sleep. Des and Chris seem to be away.
Friday was still very grey and dry, but chillier. David and Oliver on way to airport. Dot spent much of day preparing for David’s visit. At lunchtime I walked to Morrisons via Boots, where I met Dot, who had driven there. We bought a lot of food – so much so that we couldn’t get it all in the fridge. Also filled car with petrol. Felt cold and tired during afternoon, and lay down for a while, then cooked evening meal – salmon. Afterwards we watched the first episode of a new thriller, Until I Kill You (based on a true story). Also a documentary on the making of Rumours, by Fleetwood Mac, which was really good, as was the album. In the middle of that went out for street meet: bit chilly but could have been a lot worse, and no doubt will be. Des and Chris were back from their trip to sort out a relative’s house; Mark, Matt, John and Jonathan also there. Mary popped out momentarily. I think Sean and Ciara are away.
Saturday – no change in weather, though it was a bit colder. Hectic morning, working out when David would arrive and whether we should have lunch or cake, and who should go to the football match … Also got call from Sylvia Ford asking why she hadn’t had the money from the solicitors. Have written an e-mail to them after consulting Anna. Also saw an e-mail from Carrie to the diocese about Phyllis’s house that contained a couple of important inaccuracies re expenses incurred; so checked again with Anna and wrote back to Carrie pointing this out. Then got message from insurers saying our house policy was increasing from £394 to over £1100!! Have sent them a message asking why.
Then I remembered I had to read the meter and put a new cartridge in the water purifier. And make the bed. Meanwhile Dot was preparing food and cleaning the bathroom, and Oliver was already in Aylesbury. Letter from Martin to diocese, copied to me, questioning the making of the will and suggesting that clergy shouldn’t decided on clergy housing. Not helpful. Not sure why he is so interested. David arrived just before 2pm, put on extra clothes and went to Carrow Road. Dot already there. City lost 2-0: bit of a slump. Had lasagne for supper, followed by pavlova. Watched a bit of football on David’s link, then the end of the Remembrance service.
Sunday – Difficult night: indigestion. Had to get up and walk round for a bit. But reinvigorated by an almost forgotten weather phenomenon in the morning: the sun was shining. For a while. Rang Ray to remind him we weren’t coming to church: he seemed quite perky. All three of us (not Ray) did the C&C trail – quite successfully. Walked back through Close in time to watch football on David’s Canadian app: Spurs lost 1-2 to Ipswich. Aargh! Showed David some of the pictures I’d transferred to computer, then had dinner. For some reason I was not hungry and couldn’t even manage blackberry and apple crumble! Had it later. Went and lay on bed for about an hour feeling cold and a bit achy. Then came down and watched first episode of new series of Wolf Hall. Brilliant. David explained to me a bit about coding and the need to update constantly. Short FaceTime from Amy, Oliver and Chrissy. Amy arranged to come and see us in late December.
Yesterday was mainly dry with some sun but also some occasional drizzle later. Dot drove me to hospital for a flow test. Usual nightmare. Drank pints of water but failed to produce much when asked. Fortunately the nurse didn’t seem worried and was quite happy with the ultrasound. Got bus home and just made it to the toilet: produced copious amounts of liquid during the afternoon. Grrr. Dot had been expecting a call from a nurse about her medicines – possibly while driving home – but it didn’t happen. She rang the surgery later and discovered she had the wrong week. My next interaction with the flow people is next July – on the phone! Yippee.
After lunch David went into city to buy a bow tie for his dinner in Peterborough. We watched Episode 2, 3 and 4 of Until I Kill You, which is quite disturbing, partly because the victim is so obnoxious. In the evening David went to the Coach and Horses with Kevin, who is wearing well. Had a chat with them both when they returned. Felt cold during the day but better in the evening.